Town teams are to be grown in two local towns
Two local towns are to receive €10,000 each to develop and strengthen town teams.
Monksland and Kilbeggan are to benefit from the initiative announced today by Minister for Rural and Community Development, Heather Humphreys.
The funding is from the first ever Town Team Support Fund
A total of 68 towns will be supported with €10,000 in funding per town.
The funding may be used to support the establishment and/or development of town teams where they are not already well established, and to better understand the unique features of towns. The projects will be managed by the DRCD-funded Town Regeneration Officers across the country.
In announcing the funding, Minister Humphreys said: “I’m delighted today to announce the first ever dedicated investment in our Town Teams.
“This is all about tackling vacancy, combatting dereliction and breathe new life into our town centres.
“Through this initiative, we are recognising the importance of having vibrant towns, which are places to live in, work in, visit, and raise a family in.
“Town teams are key to rural regeneration and I am delighted that this funding will support the development of these teams and the creation of teams where they currently don’t exist.
“Amongst other things, these Town Teams play a vital role in helping communities access the wide range of funding available from my Department under various schemes”
In Westmeath, the three towns selected are Kilbeggan, Castlepollard and Rochfortbridge
In Roscommon, Monksland, Ballaghadereen and Boyle have been selected.
This funding follows on from the recent announcement of €780,000 which will support the development of a Town Centre First Plan in a further 26 towns. These plans represent the communities own vision for the future of their towns. Locally, Ferbane is among those towns.
Moate and Clara received funding under previous annual Town Centre First Plan allocations.
To find out more about the Town Centre First policy, the Town Centre First Suite of Supports 2024 and how towns can become involved, visit www.towncentrefirst.ie.